Graham Forester's Story

Alright, Madoka.

You can do this! Don't give up before you've even tried!

Keeping a determined expression, Madoka offered his hands. "Mercy, i-it's awkward, but please let me hold on to your legs. ...Th-that was phrased weird, b-but I trust you know what I meant."

Levi moved to Faussin, murmuring to him. He tried to place himself in the magician's line of sight, offering a surprisingly genuine smile. Madoka let out a sigh, relieved.

"I know I'm not the strongest guy here, but..." Madoka looked around at the others. Graham was completely zoned out, Faqir was injured and in the midst of a meltdown, Faussin was still incapacitated, and Levi...well, Levi was even tinier than Madoka. It was highly unlikely he could successfully carry anyone. "...O-our options are limited, so I'll do my best."

There were still many feelings he had to sort through, but in the moment seeing the blue sky was all he cared about.

---

Mercy stared at Madoka for a moment. Perhaps if he hadn't phrased that so weirdly, she would've said fine.

"...I think I'll pass." She tried to step back, then ended up falling back. She winced, then tried to sit up, moving a few inches away from Madoka. Blushing slightly and hating herself for it, Mercy mumbled, "I-I'll find a way to walk on my own, thanks..."

A way that involves clinging to the nearest object or person with every step and probably falling down at least five times. Yes, good idea, Mercy. That'll get things done faster. She shifted, the other part of her still wanting to cling to what little pride she had left. ...It won't be faster, but it'll be better than being carried by him...or would it be worse? I'll be fine, it's fine...

Huffing, Mercy reached for the top of her stand--ow--and began to pull herself up, masking the pain so it didn't show on her face. Biting her lip, she paused, took a deep breath, then leaned against the stand for another moment. Ow. She glanced in the direction in the elevator, debating how she would manage the trip over there.

And then to the actual exit...ah, f*ck...

Frowning slightly, Madoka rose to his feet and headed after Mercy...then suddenly scooped her up bridal style.

...O-oh shoot! Sh-she's heavy! T-too much muscle!

"W-we can do this the easy way, the hard way, or whatever your way was!" Madoka said firmly, trying not to drop her. "You're hurt, Mercy, and I'm not going to let you try to walk by yourself. I'm not going to sit back and watch you hurt yourself, s-so if this is how you want to do it..."

Somehow, Madoka managed to take one step.

T-too heavy! Don't drop her, Madoka! P-please don't drop her!

"...then this is how we're going to do it. L-let's go. Levi, can you get Fauss? Graham, Faqir, I-I'll come back..."

Ah, Madoka! For once please don't be a wuss!

---

Mercy blinked, alarmed at first. She would not have hesitated to punch him if not for the fact she was in an awful lot of pain at the moment and she didn't want to end up hurting Madoka. She tried not to shift instead, glancing down at the ground. Madoka was short--she wasn't used to being this close to the floor unless she was sitting down.

Frowning, she looked back at Madoka. I know you can't carry me and I have no problem with being dropped. How far are you even going to be able to get, little lucky student?

Over his shoulder, she glanced over at Graham. He was...frozen in place, something scary flickering in his eyes as he stared down at Akuma's now dead body. For some reason, seeing someone originally so happy now so broken was nauseating. And then there was Faqir, who...

His dad killed Harvey...Harvey's dead...I have...

We're here...we're getting out, but...what am I going back to?

Feeling empty but mostly numb, Mercy leaned against Madoka, half beginning to zone out and half still waiting for him to collapse. ...Nothing...I'm going back to nothing. Wh...what am I supposed to do...?

Summoning his strength, Madoka somehow managed to cart Mercy into the elevator, knees wobbling.

Come on, Madoka! You can do this! Just because she has a lot of muscle weight doesn’t mean you can’t carry her!

After a moment, Levi and Faussin joined the two in the elevator. Levi pressed the button to send them up, offering Madoka a sympathetic smile.

Madoka finally dropped to his knees, squeaking but somehow managing to keep Mercy in his arms. Madoka...you’re a wimp…

The elevator grinded to a stop. Levi stepped out, whispering for Faussin to follow. Taking a deep breath, Madoka began crawling towards the door on his knees.

“Do you need help…?” Levi asked warily.

Yes. “No, I can handle it,” Madoka insisted, still pitifully crawling forwards. “I just want to get everyone out without anyone getting hurt again, so I can handle it.”

I’m not giving up. No matter what, I won’t ever give up. Inch by inch, Madoka continued crawling towards the escape, carting Mercy.

---

Graham finally sat back from staring, his eyes still locked on Akuma's body but with much less intensity. He swallowed, glancing down at the puddle of blood he was now sitting in--strangely, it didn't bother him. No, he wanted to feel the red against his hands. It was more to ingrain this moment into his mind.

My mom is dead...the mastermind is dead...my friends are dead...their families are dead...

Death is everywhere I look...

He moved back from Akuma's body, oddly calm. He moved to wipe the tears from his eyes, then flinched, realizing he almost smeared Akuma's blood onto his face. Sniffing instead, he scooted even further away, suddenly able to take in the trial room with a new and unfamiliar sense of numb calmness. His gaze rested on each dead student's crossed out face, moving to the next every few seconds until his eyes landed on Faqir's. Suddenly remembering the jeweler's presence, he looked to see him crying and speaking to himself in a language Graham didn't recognize.

...You're mine. He slowly pushed himself toward Faqir, numb to the blood splattered quite literally all over him. An odd smile graced Graham's lips--he took Faqir's hand and laced their fingers together. He fell back so he was staring up at the ceiling, then moved to hold Faqir's hand with both of his. ...You didn't die. You kept your promise. We're here. We're okay.

I'm going to get to say 'I love you' to my dad after all...

Can I say it to you, too?

Vaguely, Graham registered the whirring of the elevator. He didn't bother looking, recognizing the sound of Levi's voice and...nothing else. Somehow he was too exhausted to wonder who else was there.

I don't care. I don't need to care. Everything is okay now.

He gently squeezed Faqir's hand, smiling.

You're mine. I took your heart and you took mine. And now, you kept your promise, everything's okay, and we're...we're free.
Can you believe that? We're free. Free, free, free...I always liked that word.

There were a few voices speaking to him and people he didn't recognize standing over him and sitting next to him as if to help him up. Graham ignored them, keeping his eyes fixed on the ceiling and Faqir's hand in his, not wanting to let the moment go. He knew the onslaught of emotions coming--the guilt, the confusion, the despair, and all of the other things that would tear him apart...so he just wanted to lay there for a bit, because for some reason in that moment they weren't there.

The longer he could avoid them, well...the better.

Eventually one of the men coaxed Graham into standing up--his energy completely drained, he rubbed his eyes and wandered with them toward the elevator, hardly able to move his legs the way over. Eyes mostly fixed on the ground for the walk and elevator ride, Graham didn't see what they did with Faqir. If he had to guess, they probably carried him...

Briefly, his mind went back to Akuma. What were they going to do with his body? Would they leave it? Would they bury it? Would they find his family and tell them the news?

...Family. The thought of the mastermind having family seemed somehow foreign to Graham. Surely if he ever felt compassion then he never would have brutally murdered everyone's loved ones and rubbed in their suffering.

Upon coming to a set of open doors, Graham almost stumbled. One of the men offered to help him but Graham pushed away, shuddering slightly. He made the move to open them, then paused--chair. Wordlessly, he broke away from the group to go into his room for one last time and drag out the one thing that had been strong and there for him throughout the entire endeavor: his chair. Deciding any blood he got on it now his dad could help him wash off later, Graham hiked the chair up onto his shoulders and slowly made his way back to the supposed exit.

Completely silent and eyes dead, Graham stepped out into the open, taking in a breath of fresh air. He looked up at the red sky, feeling his heart sink in his chest.

This...isn't what I remember.

Isn't it...supposed to be blue...?

Madoka and Ayame finally dropped off the last round of portraits just as the rest of the group arrived upstairs. Madoka bit his lip, eyes drawn to the blood soaked into Graham’s clothes and leaking from Faqir’s body.

Blood...red like the sky.

I wonder if it’s always been that way…

One of the men went to whisper something to Ayame. She nodded, then glanced over at Madoka. “Hey there, kiddo. You have his keys, right?”

Madoka stared at the sky for a moment longer before turning to her.

“Hm?”

“The keys to Akuma’s office. You have them?”

“Oh…” Madoka drew the keys to the manager’s office out of his pocket, handing them to Ayame. She tucked them in her own pocket, nodding. “...N-now what?”

Now what? The question felt strange--Madoka had been trapped for so very long, he didn’t even know what the next steps were now that they were finally free. Would his sisters even recognize him?

Ah...Juri’s going to freak out when she sees my eye is missing.

“Now we get you kids home,” Ayame announced. “Come on, team, let’s get everyone inside and to a hospital.”

Following her commands, the group followed Ayame to the helicopters, coaxing everyone along. As the last of the survivors piled inside, Ayame shut the door and began moving towards the cockpit.
Levi stopped her, gesturing for her to lean down. He whispered something into her ear and the two carried on a brief, hushed conversation, quiet enough that no one else would hear. Then, nodding, Ayame continued into the cockpit while Levi took his seat once more.

“What was that about?” Madoka asked curiously.

Levi flashed a tired smile. “Nothing. Just wondering if there’s a bathroom on this thing. I’m not very good with heights and I’d much rather vomit into a toilet than on one of you.”

“...Fair enough.”

As the helicopter moved to take off, Ayame returned from the cockpit, gripping the side of the helicopter to stay upright. “Time for that explanation!” she called, keeping her volume loud enough to hear over the whir of the helicopter. “First of all, let me officially introduce myself and the Future Foundation. My name is Ayame Takahashi as some of you heard. I’m in charge of this particular squad for now--we work for the 2nd Division. Future Foundation was created by previous Hope’s Peak alumni and personnel with the goal of righting the wrongs done by Ultimate Despair and Junko Enoshima.”

Somehow, hearing explicitly that Ayame’s organization was founded to help eased many of Madoka’s fears.

“That’s how we found you guys--since many among our ranks once worked for Hope’s Peak, we were able to gather records of Akuma’s work and his slow descension into madness. Eventually, after gathering or confirming the whereabouts of many other students or prospective students, we realized all of you had been taken and began hunting you down. It took a while--by the time we finally figured out where Akuma was keeping you, it was too late to stop his first killing game--but since then we’ve been trying to figure out a way to get you out. I’m sorry we were too late to save everyone.”

Madoka’s chest hurt. He let out a soft cry, wiping his eye.

Ayame allowed a moment of mourning before she continued. “I want to let you know your remaining family members and friends are all perfectly safe. As soon as we realized what was wrong, we tracked them down and brought them to a refuge compound watched by members of the Future Foundation. We’ll be taking you to that same compound. It’s out of reach of Ultimate Despair’s influence and a clean part of town. Just a few stops along the way, namely the hospital. It’s close by.”

They’re safe. Once again, hearing that everyone was safe calmed Madoka’s racing thoughts. He let out a long sigh, frankly completely exhausted by the past events.

...I’m tired. I want to take a nap. When I get home, can I take a nap…?

“We also gathered up most of your belongings and got you all mostly moved in. There are a few houses that will be...emptier than we hoped. Still, I think all of you should decide what to do with their things.”

The mention of the other students was painful, but somehow Madoka felt at peace with their deaths--they were gone and he would miss them, but continuing to cry over them forever wouldn’t help anything.

God in heaven, I hope they reached you alright.

“It’s over now.” Ayame offered the group a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you must all still be scared and confused. Do you have any questions? Please, feel free to ask me anything. No question is off limits.”

Madoka found himself at a loss for any questions. He was tired--his sisters being safe and where they were going was all he cared about.

We’re free…?

We’re free.

It’s over.

---

Graham tuned out a decent amount of Ayame's explanation, but he caught a few parts here and there. Something about the future and house foundations, his dad being safe, Akuma, his dad being safe, asking questions, and...his dad being safe. Graham hugged his chair closer to himself, strangely at ease considering the explosion of emotions sure to come any minute now. (One of the people had asked him not to bring it onto the helicopter, but Graham had downright refused by giving him a dirty look and stubbornly clinging to his chair. The person eventually backed off, realizing there was no way Graham could be separated from this chair. Because of it, the helicopter ride was much more cramped, but he didn't care.)

At first, he'd wanted to look out the window, but the view wasn't really something he would have called 'inspiring'. Not wanting to look down at broken down buildings, stacks of smoke and a red sky, he instead stared mostly at his chair, wondering where he'd put it in his apparently new house.

...Wait...they touched my things...?

Even with the overwhelming exhaustion he felt now, he still had enough care left in him to be bothered by this. He shifted, frowning. Those things were his. No one was allowed to look, touch, admire, or think about them aside from him and his father. "...You didn't take any of my things, did you?"

"Only to move them into your new home," Ayame assured.

Not good enough. Graham promptly decided that if a single thing was missing, he would greet every adult onboard with a knuckle sandwich the next day. No one messed with his stuff. They were getting off lucky this time because of special circumstances, but had they even dared to touch something of his in any other situation their numbers would be up.

Biting his lip, Graham glanced around at the other students, again wanting to find something else to look at instead of the blood red sky. Mercy seemed to have the same idea--leaning against the side of the helicopter and keeping her eyes fixed on the floor, she had a hand held by her face to stop herself from looking outside the window.

Faussin...still seemed completely out of it. Graham briefly wondered how long their trip to the hospital would take--he didn't need any hospitalization, so he was eager to skip the trip and come right home to his dad.

Coming back to his dad...was that something he could do now?

I'm free...free. We're free.

I'm coming home...

Home. Free. Family.

Dad, I miss you.

The sky stretched from a blood red to a dull violet, then into a familiar blue as the group of helicopters left the destruction far behind. Madoka stared out the window, awed by the expansive world as they passed overhead.

I’ve never been this high up.

This world...is so beautiful.

After a while of flying, a neighborhood of mansions appeared in view, settled on top of grassy knolls. The helicopter found a spot to land nearby one of the mansions and Ayame moved towards the door. Wordlessly, Levi stood and followed her, mumbling a “thank you” before stepping out onto the grass. Ayame began to close the door.

...What…?

“Wait,” Madoka insisted, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the door. Levi headed towards one of the mansions, unusually solemn. “Levi, wait! W-where are you…?”

The makeup artist didn’t say a word. Suddenly extremely concerned, Madoka jumped out of the helicopter and chased him down, catching the boy’s wrist about a foot from the helicopter.

“Where are you going?” Madoka demanded. “We still need to get to the hospital and then we’re heading to that neighborhood, right? I-is this it? Why isn’t anyone else getting out?”

For a moment, Levi was silent. He stared ahead, not even turning to look at Madoka.

When he finally spoke, his voice was nearly void of emotion.

“You need to get to the hospital, good luck charm. Please let go.”

“But you’re coming with us,” Madoka protested. “...L-Levi, come on, l-let’s get back on together…”

“...You’ll take care of Fauss, right?” Levi asked quietly.

“Of course,” Madoka replied. “...J-just like you will. C-come on, let’s…”

Madoka gave Levi’s wrist a tug. Levi remained still, then moved to step forwards. Madoka held fast.

“L-Levi, what…”

Levi glanced down at the floor. “...I’m not going with you, Madoka.”

...What?

What? W-what is he talking about? Levi, you can’t just…

Slowly, Levi turned to look at Madoka over his shoulder. Though there was a smile on his face, his eyes shone with tears.

“I’m going home to Lucifer.”

Madoka’s heartbeat kicked into overdrive. He cried out just as Levi yanked his wrist free and began speed walking towards the mansion. Madoka caught his wrist again, pulling him back a step.

“W-what are you talking about?!” Madoka demanded. “You can’t--you can’t do that! Not after everything we...d-didn’t you throw your whole life away just to get away from him?! H-he’s going to hurt you, y-you can’t just go back!”

Don’t go. Don’t leave me. You said I’m not alone, right? So don’t leave me alone!

“Please, d-don’t…” Madoka swallowed. “W...why? Why? H-how long have you been planning on doing this?”

Levi’s eyes flickered back to the ground. He turned his head to face the horizon again. “Since I realized you’re all better off without me. ...I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Madoka, please. Please just let me go.”

“No!” Madoka snapped, gripping Levi’s wrist with both hands. “I...I-I won’t let you do this! I won’t let you go back to him, he...h-he’s going to hurt you! Don’t do this, Levi, p-please don’t leave me, I-I...I love you so much, don’t leave me!”

“This is what I deserve.” There was an odd edge to Levi’s voice; Madoka gripped his wrist tighter, hiccuping. “I need this, please...don’t make this harder than it has to be. I’ve broken your heart before and you got over it. All of you will be better off once I’m gone.”

I never got over it. I...I never got over you.

“You’re wrong,” Madoka sobbed. “N-no, that...that’s wrong! You’re our friend and we love you, n-no one wants you to do this! Now come on, l-let’s get back on the helicopter and go, please!”

“Madoka…” Levi’s wrist trembled in Madoka’s hands, then went limp. Biting his lip, desperate to keep Levi close, Madoka steadily began pulling him back towards the helicopter. Levi stumbled backwards with him, still strangely solemn.

Please...this is better, right? Let’s go…

“Let’s go home,” Madoka urged, releasing Levi’s wrist with one hand. “C-come on, Levi, don’t...don’t say crazy things like this. L-let’s go home.”

It happened in a blur.

“I’m sorry.”

Before Madoka even realized what was happening, he was pushed up against the side of the helicopter. Levi’s lips met his own out of the blue, keeping his head in place.

L-Levi...a-ah, y-you can’t keep…

Slowly, Madoka’s hand moved from gripping Levi’s wrist to rest on his cheek, his body relaxing.

Don’t tease me like this. Ah, I love you...I love you so much…

Levi pulled back, yanked Madoka to the door, and shoved him hard, sending the lucky student tumbling back into the helicopter. He gave one last, tearful look, glanced up at Ayame, and took off running back towards the mansion.

Wh...what…?

The door slammed closed, shutting out the image of Levi fleeing to the mansion forever. Dazed, Madoka could only sit as the helicopter began rising into the sky once more.

It wasn’t until they had lifted off the ground that he realized what had happened.

Crying out, Madoka scrambled to his feet, leaping at the door. Ayame caught him, holding him back. Madoka thrashed, trying desperately to reach out and chase Levi down before it was too late.

“No!” Madoka shouted, sobbing. “NO! Stop, we have to go back! Levi, stop!”

“We can’t waste any more time,” Ayame called firmly. “If this is what he wants, we can’t afford to go back. You need a hospital!”

“He’s going to die out there!” Madoka cried, still struggling against Ayame's grip as the helicopter began leaving the mansion far behind. “Go back! P-please, you can’t let him do this! We have to go back! LEVI!”

“There’s no time!” Ayame insisted. “One of you is actively bleeding out and this was a long enough detour already! He’ll be fine, alright? We can pick him up later.”

Still shouting, Madoka continued struggling until exhaustion took over and he collapsed, sobbing like a child. Ayame slowly lowered him to the ground and sat with him, allowing Madoka to hug her while he cried.

He...he didn’t even say goodbye!

Will I ever see you again…?!

Why would you…

LEVI!

---

Feeling more relaxed at the sight of a blue sky, Graham found himself finally able to look out the window. He'd watched the Ultimate Makeup Artist leave and hadn't thought much of it when it happened--his mind was a mess right now--but the way Madoka sobbed caught his attention, briefly.

They were a couple for a while, right? Madoka was probably going to miss him. It wasn't like Levi was going to be gone forever though, was it? He would come back--for Faussin, at least. ...Wouldn't he? Where was he even going?

Halfheartedly, Graham reached out to offer Madoka a hug in place of Ayame, then let his gesture flop after a few moments, not exactly in the mood for a hug himself. Perhaps it was bizarre after going through so much with these people and finally escaping together, but the last place he wanted to be right now was with them. He wanted to be away from them, he wanted to be home in his room, with his dad and his things and his favorite warm jacket.

Hopefully, the stop at the hospital wouldn't take too long. They'd just take everyone else out and start bringing them in while the guy driving the helicopter stayed behind to drive Graham home. How long was the flight from the hospital to their new houses? What time was it? What day was it? His dad wouldn't be too busy napping to answer the door, would he? He liked to nap on Saturdays.

"What's today?" He asked. No one seemed to hear him at first--he had to talk louder--so he tried again. "What day is today? Monday? April? The 15th?"

Ayame looked up from comforting Madoka, raising an eyebrow. "You mean-? ...That's right, you kids haven't had a calendar for more than a year. June 3rd, it's a Sunday."

...June 3rd?

Today's my birthday?

"H-how old am I?" He suddenly asked.

Ayame seemed to be thinking for a moment. She patted Madoka's back, held a finger up to Graham as if to say 'one second', then briefly dipped back into the cockpit. She came back out with a handful of files, trying to keep her balance as she flipped through the several files. She stopped on a particular paper, scanned it, then looked back up at Graham. "Seventeen. Happy birthday, kiddo."

Empty of another person’s presence, Madoka couldn’t help but think again about all the times he’d shared with Levi. Going back to his abusive household now was practically a death sentence--but maybe Levi knew that.

Did...did he ever plan on going back with us?

He’s gone...he’s gone forever...h-he’s gone...Levi is...Levi is gone…

It hurts…

He spent the remainder of the ride in tears, numb to everything but the absence of one tiny body. The elevator felt strangely empty--desperate for company, Madoka moved to sit next to Faussin, knowing that now it was more important than ever to look out for the magician.

He mumbled a “happy birthday” to Graham, wishing he could put more cheer into the words. I’m sorry...I really want to be happy for you, but it hurts too much…!

Finally, the helicopter carted the group to a hospital and landed on the pad on the roof. Ayame and the rest of the members helped get everyone inside, where Madoka, Faqir, and Mercy were checked into emergency care and Faussin was walked down to the psychiatric ward. Ayame promised to get Graham home safely and returned to the helicopter, leaving Madoka depressingly alone.

It was over--everything was complete.

Even so, there was an emptiness in Madoka’s heart that refused to leave. He looked forward to finally getting home to his sisters.

Juri, Kana...I have so much to tell you…

I got my first girlfriend, experienced my first breakup, made my first wonderful friends, saw my first corpse, touched a dead man, and carried someone out of a hotel.

I fell in love with a boy who left me forever, befriended a schizophrenic killer, bonded with a wanted thief, got personalized jewelry from a talented jeweler, and got teased by a hunter.

I hurt, cried, laughed, screamed, snapped, and experienced a well of emotions.

And I...am coming home after all of it.

---

Graham stared out the window as the helicopter started its fan blades again, slowly picking up off of the ground and rising into the air again. Ayame sat across from him, looking between the hospital and some papers she had in her hand, distracted. As they rose further and further into the sky, the numbness began to fade away and turn into an uncontrollable excitement. He tapped his toes, then shifted, then hugged his chair, then moved to get an even better look at the world below.

They'd dropped Levi off, they'd made their stop at the hospital, and now they were heading to their final destination: home.

I like this helicopter, Graham realized, running his hand along the cushy seats. He admired it for a few moments. ...Yes. It's a very nice helicopter. I think I want it to be my helicopter.

He nodded to himself. I'm gonna steal it. Not now, not tomorrow, not even the day after...but someday.

The ride home didn't consist of much--Graham was too exhausted to plan his helicopter heist in his head and was mostly just distracted by the view the entire time, but Ayame initiated a conversation with him every now and then, talking about mostly trivial stuff. At one point, she did end up singing him happy birthday, which he guessed was nice. Many things she brought up were interrupted by his incessant questions--"Are we there yet?", "How long until we're there?", and "Are we close?" to name a few--to which she usually replied, "Calm down, kid, I'll tell you when we're close."

The time left until he finally got home turned into the only thing he could think about. From the moment that they'd been trapped in that horrible h*ll, that had been all he could think about. Of all the things that Monokuma--Akuma?--had ever said, the one that had struck him most was when he'd told them they were never coming home. That meant no dad, that meant no warmth, that meant no more hugs and laughs and adventures to tell all about.

Now he was so close.

He realized in that moment that this, too, could be considered an 'adventure'--a horrible, nightmarish, scarring, despair-ridden, nauseating, depressing adventure--one that was over, one that he'd never go through again, one that would haunt him for the rest of his life. But it was over, and he was coming home.

Remembering a conversation he'd had with his dad once, Graham smiled a very broken smile.

"'Adventures?' That's what you're calling them?" He'd asked, with a hint of a sigh. "You could get seriously hurt doing the things you're doing."

"I could, but I won't, because I know what I'm doing," Graham assured his father, looking up from the millions of dollars worth of diamonds he'd laid out on their table. "Trust me, dad. It's okay. If you try to stop me I'll just find a way to do it anyway, so there's no point in telling me not to."

He stared at his son for a moment, then sighed, rubbing his forehead. "...Alright, but don't expect me not to sell these when I end up having to bail you out someday."

"You wouldn't dare," Graham said seriously, scooping his diamonds up as if to protect them.

"I would and you know it." He paused. Seeming contemplative, he took a step toward the table, looking down at all of the precious gems his son had stolen. Glancing over his shoulder as if expecting the police to knock down their door, he frowned slightly, then looked back at his son. "...Is this really the thing you wanna do, Graham Cracker?"

Graham nodded.

"...Then you've got to promise me something," his dad muttered, walking around the table to pat Graham's head. "Whatever 'adventures' you end up going on...you've always gotta come home, okay?"

"Okay," Graham had agreed, smiling. "I'll find a way to come home. Always."

He was coming home. He was done with this adventure and he was eager to leave it behind for the rest of his life, and now that it was quite literally behind him, he was heading back to the place he always promised to go--home.

A few minutes passed, and Graham noticed the helicopter begin to approach a row of houses and before he could whirl around and tug on Ayame's sleeve to ask her the same question again, she nodded. "We're here."

We're here? We're here. We're here!

He nearly jumped out of his seat. Slow and careful, they began their descent on the outside of the nice-looking neighborhood. Ayame opened the helicopter door for him and he jumped out, taking his chair with him and looking down the line of moderately sized houses. He glanced up at Ayame, impatient. "Which one's mine? Which house is mine?"

She pointed him to one farther along the line (the twelfth house down) and after confirming with her that it was, in fact, his, he nodded, propped his chair up on his shoulders, and waved her goodbye. She waved back, assured him she'd be back with more to tell him, then stepped back inside the helicopter and closed the door. Its fan blades started up again, whipping the air around it into a frenzy--Graham stepped back, using the chair to shield himself.

The helicopter took off into the sky, Ayame with it. Graham watched--the silence when it finally flew out of view was somehow peaceful. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Graham looked at the neighborhood before him.

And running as fast as his agile legs would allow, he made a mad dash toward the twelfth house down the line.